[center][h2]Brains versus Brawn[/h2][/center] Starring: ‘American Dragon’ Sakura ‘’Reforged’ Ronin High above Penrose, a [url=https://images2.imgbox.com/7a/b7/R5j7M5vC_o.png]glowing techno-pyramid[/url] hovered. Unlike the thousands of similar constructs which once choked the skies of unfortunate worlds, this particular vessel was roughly the size of an average office building, rather than an average [i]mountain.[/i] Still, the power it contained was vast, and as it maintained its station above the unsuspecting city, it swept the ground below it with a dizzying array of sensors, scanners, and other data accumulators, the various spy rays and finder beams probing every proverbial nook and cranny for the item they sought. Such was their level of sophistication, that mere moments after their sweep began, they had successfully ascertained the precise location of the artifact in question. Now, it would simply have to be [i]retrieved…[/i] By the impression the bounty had left, time was of the essence. An attack could be launched at any time, so there was little opportunity for idle chit chat as they made their way to the destination specified in the instructions they had received upon accepting the bounty. Their destination was just outside of Penrose, in an old scrap yard filled with the remnants of cars, refrigerators, and other miscellaneous junk that one could use for mechanical parts. It was of moderate size, though at the moment it didn’t seem very busy. They had been told to proceed to a side entrance and ring the buzzer. From there, they were guided to their final destination further within the scrapyard. Guided to a spot near the center of the yard, they soon found themselves at the base of another large pile. At least, until a hatch opened up and a rope ladder unrolled to the ground in front of them. “Come on in,” came the call from above. [color=55B7AA]‘… So, sensei, whatever happened to you?’[/color] A beaming Ronin asked Sakura as soon as they could meet each other properly again. [color=55B7AA]‘Looks kinda amazing! I was a monster-girl in the past, too, so ask me if you have any questions about it!’[/color] Ronin said, grinning all widely, as they headed off with the guidance they’d received. Eventually, they reached their destination… in the scrap yard, of all places, and then there was a hatch in a pile and a rope. [color=55B7AA]‘Oh, don’t mind if I do!’[/color] Ronin said, skipping up partly not even needing the rope as she just jumped on her own platforms materializing under her feet and dragged herself up with the rope occasionally. “I…took a Ruby coin too fast and too hard. At least I reach the counter now. But I have a stupid fat tail for legs, and the chest can sometimes get in the way.” Sakura added…before noticing Ronin had scampered off. “Oi, is this a joke? Fucking shit.” Sakura added, making an effort to crawl up the ladder with just her arms. Whether by stairs or by awkward rise, they arrived at the top of the ladder. Moving inside, the structure they entered was much different from what one would expect. There were no car interiors, no further junk, and no bad smells. Instead it was split into a couple distinct areas. The left side was a mixture of a workshop and laboratory, with scientific equipment and machining tools for experiments. There was a work station set up with several computers nearby, and then tucked away in a cortner was a kitchen and other living essentials. Near the middle of the room, by a battered table was a familiar individual. Lysandra turned to face them, her smile faltering somewhat as she got a good look at how Ronin and Sakura had changed since the last time she saw them. “Oh, you’re…different. Sorry, I’d have come up with a better entry method if i knew,” she said with at least some attempt at chagrin. After a moment, she offered a hand to shake. “It’s good to see you both again.” "Well, your place looks a bit… um… like shit, Risu Ann Dora." Sakura said. "You called, here we are. It's a long story. At least I am taller." [color=55B7AA]‘Ooo, science place,’[/color] Ronin observed as she smiled around. Then she smirked at Lysandra. [color=55B7AA]‘Yea, I gained a couple inches, didn’t I? Hahaha! Though, yeah, that’s no match for what happened with Sensei!’[/color] Ronin laughed and looked happy. Then she leaned forward and beamed at Lysandra. [color=55B7AA]‘Anyway, how’s it going!? Have you made any groundbreaking discoveries!? Any juicy intel you’ve managed to glean from your investigation or something!?’[/color] she asked, all excited. Now, yes, she was here to guard the place, but she totally figured she had time to ask. Glancing around, Lysandra shrugged as Sakura leveled her judgment. “It’s just a workshop where I can do experiments without drawing public attention. Most of the time anyways.” She didn’t mind it looking bad, especially since it got the job done. Her attention was drawn away by Ronin’s enthusiasm, and she grinned in reciprocation. “I’m still working on it, but I’ve definitely learned some stuff,” she replied. Reaching over, she patted a couple sheets of paper that had been left on the table. “It’s giving me all sorts of insights into developing stronger materials, and maybe even applying elemental forces. That one’s still a theory though. I was just getting into it when all of this stuff happened.” Sakura would just go around the room, her eyes scrolling all sorts of doo dads.Shiny things. "So who do we need to punch?" She would say. [color=55B7AA]‘Nice! I'd be interested to know how it goes in the future, too! I hope you're successful! Maybe we can get stronger with it or something, heh,’[/color] Ronin said, smiling supportively. Then Sakura asked a relevant question… [color=55B7AA]‘Yeah, you wrote something about a mad scientist in the request. Is she coming here?’[/color] Probably good to ask. Lysandra nodded swiftly as they returned to the matter of hand. Stepping over to the computer, she brought up an image of a green haired woman in a lab coat. “This is Doctor Ny..Nykan? Something like that. She showed up yesterday and demanded that I hand over the material you helped me recover, and she threatened to take it by force and burn down my lab if I refused.” She then turned to face Ronin and sakura. “The time for the ultimatum is just about expired. I figure she’ll show up any minute now." "Bwahahaha doctor Nyan. Is she a cat or something? Don't worry Risu we will spank her sorry ass." Sakura would say, before eyeing the room a little better. "Hey kiddo, could you use the barrier thingie to reinforce the room?" [color=55B7AA]‘Doctor… Lycan? Are we at risk of being attacked by werewolves? Her hair does look pretty wolfy…’[/color] Ronin asked, leaning forward to inspect the doctor's hair. Sakura then made a suggestion. Ronin grinned and saluted. [color=55B7AA]‘No can do, Sensei!’[/color] she announced happily mid-salute. [color=55B7AA]‘It's too big for my magical power. I’m not a magic-build. But I can reinforce that which is most important! That is, you,’[/color] she put a hand on Sakura and imbued some Reinforcement magic, [color=55B7AA]‘you,’[/color] she walked forward and put a hand on Lysandra's shoulder to do the same to her, [color=55B7AA]‘and then the material itself! If it’s attached or encased in anything, I can reinforce that to give us extra time if someone tries to rip it out to steal it!’[/color] Ronin continued, smiling proudly. Lysandra tensed for a moment as magic washed over her, but she soon relaxed. It already made her feel stronger and more resilient, though hopefully she wouldn’t need it. “I left it in the safe over there. Figured it was the most sensible idea,” she replied as she gestured to the metal box tucked away in a corner. Leaning against the table, she was reassured by Ronin and Sakura’s presence. No doubt they could face whatever came their way. “I also set up some traps down in the yard. They should help, as long as you don’t get caught in them by accident.” “Right…you got any kind of water pool or something? I could show something really neat.” Sakura would then add, but she raised her electrical defenses, getting ready for the rumble. [color=55B7AA]‘Safe, eh. Well, that’ll do!’[/color] Ronin went over and put her hands on the safe, reinforcing it and also reinforcing its connection to the surrounding material, which meant that anyone trying to take the safe would either have to break through her spell or bring a whole corner of the building. With that done, she went back to the rest, ready to wait for action. Glancing over to Sakura, Lysandra shook her head. “I’ve got a hose, but I don’t have a pool set up-” Her thought was interrupted by a loud ‘beep’ coming from the nearby computer setup, a red light flashing to accompany it. Hurrying over, Lysandra frowned as she looked from it to the images displayed on the screens. “They’re here,” she warned. Things were about to get hectic. [color=DarkMagenta]“Nyahahaha! Time’s up, Lysandra!”[/color] a deranged voice announced. [color=DarkMagenta]“So, have you decided to preserve what’s left of your dignity and hand over Vuvoteya’s Shard, or is my carefully chosen Artifact Acquisition Team going to have to take it by force and then turn your pitiful excuse for a lab into a pile of radioactive ash?!”[/color] If Ronin and Sakura were to head outside (or simply look at a screen linked to one of Lysandra’s surveillance monitors), they would find several robotic war machines, armed with a dizzying array of destructive implements. First, there was a line of five [url=https://images2.imgbox.com/c4/d8/c6eW0YvT_o.png]hovering melee drones[/url], the energized claws at the end of each of their many tentacular appendages splayed wide. Behind them were a pair of [url=https://images2.imgbox.com/17/1a/ZnxEb4d5_o.png]towering, treaded war machines[/url], each flanked by two small weapons drones, with several more waiting to be deployed from within their bulky torsos. Finally, hovering above and behind this strike force was a [url=https://images2.imgbox.com/b6/65/J6KiYgrC_o.png]large weapon and sensor covered floating battle platform[/url], from which projected a hologram of a decidedly unhinged-looking young woman wearing a pair of glowing goggles and an oversized lab coat. [color=DarkMagenta]“Well?!”[/color] she demanded, before her mouth curled into a maniacal grin. [color=DarkMagenta]“I’m [i]waiting![/i]”[/color] “You look like you need to get laid, bitch.” Sakura said, raising an eyebrow. “Risu Ann won’t hand you shit, you dumpster baby garbage. You disappoint me. Fight like a woman! Man! Or Woman dressed as man!” Sakura would taunt, as she charged her electricity. Sakura then looked at Ronin, before eyeing Lysandra, her mouth becoming a rather unhinged, serpentine smile, as her jaws hung slack. “O Heavens! Hear my command. In the name of the Dragon King! I consign you!” The dragon girl would then power up, releasing her Powerful Aura. Soon enough the weather around the place switched quickly, as water began to fall, and overcast clouds trembled with lightning around, adding even more of a barrier around Lysandra’s place. Ronin placed a hand on the safe, focusing a bit. She placed her Big Damn Heroes token on it, on the place, so that she’d be notified AND arrive in time to stop it if the scientist thought herself clever and decided to try to steal the safe from behind their backs. Then, she ran to be at her Sensei’s side. Honestly, these machines were pretty intimidating to her, she knew she wasn’t the strongest of Magical Girls. That said, her Sensei seemed to have the right elements for some machine carnage, so she got ready to back her up. She smirked right back at Sakura, and then put her hand on her blade, preparing for battle. Lysandra grinned warmly as Sakura and Ronin rose so readily to her defense. This was especially welcome in the face of the monstrous machines Nykannis had brought to attack her. That was a lot more than she had been expecting, though she supposed she should be honored by the use of overwhelming force against her. It showed that Nykannis took this seriously, and validated her decision to turn to the bounty board. Poking her head out, she made her refusal clear. “No way I’m giving anything to you!” [color=DarkMagenta]“So, I see you’ve decided to hire some bodyguards,”[/color] the mad scientist noted with a smirk. [color=DarkMagenta]“That’s fine. I’ve been wanting to test how these guys would fare against some of Penrose’s magical offerings, though I can’t see [i]you two[/i] being much of a challenge,”[/color] she added with a derisive sneer. [color=DarkMagenta]“I mean, [i]seriously,[/i] Suckura? Is a pathetic little rainstorm [i]really[/i] the best you can do? Here, why don’t I show you… WHAT A [i]REAL[/i] TEMPEST LOOKS LIKE!!!”[/color] With that, the four small weapons drones rose up into the air, where they were soon joined by a dozen more, which were launched by the twin treaded constructs in rapid succession. Their glowing, spheroid-tipped prongs spinning beneath them, the sixteen drones took up their positions and began to harness, and then amplify, the electrical power of the roiling thunderheads, before unleashing it in a mighty bolt of crackling lightning. The blinding thunderbolt struck the side of the junk pile housing Lysandra’s lab, blowing a gaping hole in the makeshift structure. [color=DarkMagenta]“Nyahahaha!”[/color] the mad scientist cackled. [color=DarkMagenta]“Pretty impressive, right?! Well, there’s more where [i]that[/i] came from!”[/color] she added as several more bolts blasted apart the various nearby junk heaps. [color=DarkMagenta]“So, what are you waiting for?!”[/color] she demanded. [color=DarkMagenta]“Show me what you’ve got!”[/color] Of course, Sakura wasted no time in abusing her Sanctum perk, as she jumped into the lightning, swimming through it like it was water and energizing her aura for a round two of combat. "That was yummy. Thanks for the meal." She said while showing a middle finger, her figure cut against the storm. "You can't hurt a *storm* dragon with that, dumbass." "Risu, hit me with the hose. Ronin plug the gap." she would add. “Give me a moment,” Lysandra called back, torn between blocking the hole in her wall and getting to where the hose was. It wasn’t hard to find since there was a faucet near the main administration building. She just needed a moment to get the makeshift corrugated metal in place so the robots couldn’t just walk in without any trouble. [color=55B7AA]‘Okay, Sensei!’[/color] Ronin called and skipped into place where there’s a gap. That is, where there’s a hole in the building, I would assume. Still, Ronin really had to ask, while she prepared her sword. [color=55B7AA]‘So, how come the violent solution? Can’t scientists get along and share their discoveries? If you delegate the task of researching whatever-that-is to Lysandra here, doesn’t that free you up to research other groundbreaking stuff or something?’[/color] Ronin asked, just because. [color=DarkMagenta]“Nyahahaha! Shows how little [i]you[/i] know!”[/color] the mad scientist replied. [color=DarkMagenta]“Lysandra’s a fourth-rate scientist at [i]best![/i] Due to her staggering ineptitude, she could easily [i]destroy[/i] the artifact while trying to study it, whereas [i]I,[/i] Doctor Nykannis, Queen of the Mad Scientists, have the incomparable super-scientific genius necessary to glean every last nano particle of information from the shard, while still keeping it completely intact! Nyahahaha! She can have it back when I’m finished!”[/color] With that, the Monarch of Mad Science raised a holographic arm, which sent three of the hovering melee drones darting towards the opening in the wall. [color=DarkMagenta]“And don’t think I’ve forgotten about [i]you![/i]”[/color] she added, sending the remaining two squid-like drones racing toward Sakura. [color=DarkMagenta]“I wasn’t planning on hurting you with [i]that,[/i]”[/color] the Mad Scientist Supreme informed the draconic girl with a contemptuous sneer. [color=DarkMagenta]“I was planning on hurting you with [i]THIS!!![/i] Nyahahahaha!”[/color] An instant later, every missile pod and VLS array on both the treaded constructs and the hovering weapons platform unleashed a massive salvo straight at Sakura. Even if she could shoot them all down, they would still provide ample cover for the approaching melee drones, whose energy-sheathed, polyphasic monomolecular claws promised to slice the draconic girl into bloody stew… Sakura just tilted her head at the massive horde of attacks, before focusing. “Toys! Pfeh!” She said, as a high rise of winds manifested, propelling the draconic figure high up in the sky, the stormy winds throwing all of them off. As for the drones, a different fate approached. While they tried to nick Sakura, they would suffer a flurry of hits from an expert martial artist, redirecting their swipes into each other, and thus making the drones fall victim to their own blades, hopefully. “Ronin, get ready to destroy the item this bitch wants.” Sakura would sneer. Ronin wasn’t really educated enough in this matter to know how truthful the mad scientist was, and had no real reason to think the woman wasn’t either exaggerating or outright lying. Now, Sakura seemed more than happy to fight them off by herself. Ronin wasn’t about to let her fight by herself, though, even if she was stuck behind. She manifested barriers like discuses in her hands, and with a smirk spun and sent them flying at various drones and missiles flying at Sakura in order to help deflect some of the attacks for her. Then Sakura asked her to go get ready to destroy the thing. Ronin assumed this was a bluff. [color=55B7AA]‘Okay!’[/color] she excitedly called out, turning around and dashing back into the lab. Having gotten those makeshift repairs in place, Lysandra was making her way out of the base as Sakura made the call to Ronin. Her eyes widened, and she quickly shook her head as she ran over. “Hey hey hey, no destroying the thing that I’m paying you to protect! Who knows if I’ll ever find another one like it!” If they could even destroy it in the first place. With how it had been made, it was a big ‘if’. But she didn’t want to take that chance, bluff or not. Displaying her mastery of the elements, Sakura summoned a mighty blast of wind, which caused the missiles streaking toward her to smash into one another, and it wasn’t long before the entire barrage had blown itself apart in a series of fratricidal detonations. Her draconic form illuminated by the array of brilliant explosions, Sakura had only a moment’s reprieve before the two melee drones were upon her. However, the foul-mouthed monster girl was prepared for this as well, employing her many decades of martial arts training to deflect the drones’ tentacular appendages into each other, the various ultra-tech weapons mounted upon them slicing through their tri-phasic neutrino shields and nanofluidic hyperalloy armor like a lightsaber through tissue paper. Meanwhile, the trio of drones that descended upon Ronin would meet with a similar fate, being sliced apart by supernaturally sharp energy discs. And that was about when Sakura instructed Ronin to destroy the artifact… [color=DarkMagenta]“The HELL?!”[/color] an incredulous Nykannis exclaimed, before Lysandra went on to express her [i]own[/i] incredulity at such a course of action. At the sound of the other scientist’s annoyance, the Mad Scientist Supreme couldn’t help but laugh. [color=DarkMagenta]“Nyahahaha! Holy shit, Lysandra, you sure can pick ‘em! Don’t these idiots know that they’re supposed to [i]protect[/i] the shard?! I hope you can see now why my taking it is [i]clearly[/i] the best thing for its continued safety,”[/color] she added with a smug smirk. [color=DarkMagenta]“Oh, and thanks for leading me right to where it is, Roninny! I think I’ll have my spectral friend take it from here…”[/color] With that, a shimmering of purplish light coalesced into the fearsome form of a [url=https://images2.imgbox.com/e3/aa/1pO6zpAQ_o.png]techno-wraith[/url], which loomed over Ronin, its energy talons ready to strike… Meanwhile, Nykannis had turned her attention to the diminutive samurai’s draconic partner, who was even now being surrounded by the small, floating drones the treaded war machines had deployed earlier. [color=DarkMagenta]“Come on, Suckura!”[/color] Nykannis taunted. [color=DarkMagenta]“Is that the [i]best[/i] you can do? Let’s see that famous Killing Blow of yours I’ve heard so much about!”[/color] Sakura let out a deep breath as she looked at Nykannis."So you want my Killing Blow. Well you might as well have it. But it won't be on these toys. I will use it on the very target you want to seize, if I feel angered enough." Sakura would then say back to Nykannis. "Because you are a fucking coward and a thief. Not only do you hide beneath these toys, you try to poach other people's hard work." "Ah if only you came in person perhaps I would oblige you." Sakura said, her mannerism mimicking that regal poise of Dina. "Ronin, dear, be prepared to clear the blast zone. We might not get paid, but I am not letting this so-called genius get a speck of worth out of this place." Ronin hadn’t ran for the item itself. Assuming it to have been a bluff, she’d ran for a different corner of the lab. She blinked as the technological wraith manifested. Not wasting a moment, she used her wind-magic to suddenly blow herself back to avoid being grasped by it, after which she planted her feet on a barrier in mid-air behind her and a hand on her sheathed sword, after which she jumped and attempted a cool quick-draw slice-through of her opponent! Of course, then there was Sakura preparing to use her Killing Blow. Wait, she’s NOT bluffing? Ronin made ready to grab Lysandra instead. She was probably not going to be happy about this. Being able to phase through both energy and solid matter at will, the techno-wraith was easily able to phase through Ronin’s attack. Whirling around with lightning swiftness, it swiped at the samurai’s back with its energy claws. Thanks to her hyperactive speed, Ronin managed to keep from being completely sliced apart, but even a slight graze from so potent a weapon still resulted in a series of jagged tears in her kimono, as well as a series of painful gashes on her back. The force of the attack also had the added (and possibly helpful) effect of sending her flying towards Lysandra at an even faster speed, although she’d have to think fast if she didn’t want to crash into the panicking scientist with all the force of a wrecking ball… Outside, while Sakura was supposedly preparing her Killing Blow, the hovering drones were setting their [i]own[/i] countermeasure into motion, the glowing spheres at the base of their cylindrical forms spinning with dizzying speed as vast energies began to build… “Listen you thug, I didn’t go through all that work for you to waste it,” Lysandra yelled at Sakura. She was pretty sure threatening to destroy it was supposed to be a last resort option anyway, not a first resort. Still, she did at least make an effort to meaningfully contribute. Jagged icicles were sent flying towards the drones around Sakura, battering them and helping regain control of the airspace. She was about to head for the hose when Ronin was just as suddenly launched towards her. “Oh no-” She braced herself for a tumble, for what little good it would do. Sakura's tongue licked her lips. "Ronin, grab the thing and keep on the run." She said, before driving herself headfirst spinning in a flurry towards the wide open drones. Turns out, she was not preparing for a killing blow, but everyone expected her to go nuts. It was a moment of confusion and hesitation,or perhaps smugness, all what was needed for her to exploit the gap in the drones attack to decimate them with her dragon martial arts. Flyers were agile, but once they stopped exerting pressure, they were easy prey. "Maybe you lucked out this time. Maybe not." Sakura said with a hint of sarcasm. "Next is the platform. The big one. Something tells me it's important." She added, using her three sorceries to fly directly towards it. Okay. So, Ronin was not prepared for her sword to go through a machine like it was a ghost. What even is that tech? With a burst of air she sent herself away from the enemy, but still getting a bit cut. That was an issue. [color=55B7AA]‘Why am I facing enemies I can’t cut twice in a row with you?’[/color] she asked Lysandra mid-flight. Stopping was no issue. She just manifested a barrier on herself and in front of herself, knocking herself into a barrier rather than into Lysandra. It hurt her shoulder, but her own reinforcement applied to herself softened the blow. She fell down to the floor and spun to face the enemy once again. Yikes, that is a pain. And this was just one of the goons? That spelled a bunch of trouble. Sakura had a command for her. [color=55B7AA]‘Right, but first, I’m gonna counter,’[/color] Ronin said, and dashed for the techno-wraith herself. Now, she had a couple of theories on what she could do against this thing. For one, she’d previously been able to coat her sword in reinforcement magic, making it capable of hitting spectral opponents. If this thing worked on weaponized ghost-magic, then that’d be equally effective. Second was using its own talons against itself. With a barrier and some supporting air-blasts, she was sure she could reroute a strike. Lastly, she’d just have to send it flying out the building with as strong a wind-blast as she could muster… First things first. No dashing through this opponent this time, this time she’d be trying to bait out the wraith’s attacks so she could attempt to slice with her own sword to cut the being’s arm off. That’d be a good indication of if her reinforced magic sword could cut the wraith or not. All while using air-magic to boost her agility to dodge. Should that fail, she’d just have to use a barrier to catch the arm of the next attack and then strike it so that it would go back into the creature… just the attack part, because the attack-part had to be part of this world. A smirking Ronin was determined to show this thing wasn’t out of her league! Managing to slow her momentum via the expert use of her twin specializations, Ronin whirled around to face the imposing techno-wraith, a cunning plan already forming itself in her mind, along with several contingencies. As it happened, the initial plan would indeed prove successful, her mystically enhanced blade finding definitive purchase in the strange entity’s spectral-mechanical arm, slicing the appendage off in a spray of sparks and ectoplasm. However, the small samurai wouldn’t have long to enjoy her little victory as the mass of tentacular mechadendrites that composed the techno-wraith’s lower body shot out to coil around her legs, seeking to ensnare her in place, while the creature’s remaining arm descended upon her, its energy talons primed to slice her head clean off her shoulders… Meanwhile, outside, as the spinning of their glowing orbs accelerated to a fever pitch, the small, cylindrical drones found themselves besieged by a hail of ice spikes. The speed and unnatural sharpness of the enchanted projectiles allowed them to easily slice apart many of the relatively fragile drones, the rest succumbing to a flurry of blows from Sakura’s ferocious fists. Indeed, the draconic girl evidently [i]had[/i] been merely bluffing, and now that the smaller drones had been dealt with, she moved to take out what seemed to be the lead war machine- the hovering weapons platform from which Nykannis’s holographic form continued to sneer down at her. [color=DarkMagenta]“Wow, good guess, Suckura!”[/color] Nykannis ‘commended’. [color=DarkMagenta]“I suppose you’re not quite as stupid as you look! HOWEVER! Before you get to play with my command platform, I’ve got a [i]special[/i] treat just for you! Nyahahaha!”[/color] With that, there was a mighty burst of crackling energy as [url=https://images2.imgbox.com/03/b6/ejQUIwFo_o.png]a new opponent[/url] was teleported directly in front of Sakura’s path… [color=DarkMagenta]“Whatdya think, Suckura?!”[/color] Nykannis asked, her eyes gleaming with maniacal glee. [color=DarkMagenta]“Meet my Technomantic Cybermagimechanical Dragon-Chimera Bioweapon Beast! Nyahahaha!”[/color] Sakura would only have a moment to take in the bizarre sight, before the massive creature attacked with all its impressive power… “It sounds like you’re compensating,” Lysandra yelled back as Nykannis announced the arrival of her great weapon. Sakura did say nothing as she saw the beast suddenly appearing in front of her. The sound of a joint snapping would have been heard, but it was drowned by the maniacal glee and flair of the doctor. So, when Sakura’s Bile attack came from her serpent-like, unhinged mouth it completely peppered the creature’s heads point blank with steam and lightning, hopefully blinding and damaging them temporarily. “Sore..throat. Yuck.” She croaked as she grabbed hold of the creature’s huge body, in a certain martial arts move, as her sorceries flared up again. She remembered a game she used to play about a certain bounty hunter named Sambuco or something like that, hunting Mad droids or something. A certain skill came to mind. The Drill Assault? Or was it Screwattack? Yes, that would work. She began to electrify and power up her spin, intent on crashing the huge chimera against the platform. Ronin managed to cut one of the arms! The smirk on her lips widened. She CAN fight this thing! Then it turned out it had a lot of additional appendages. The tentacles were too many for her to efficiently manage. She ducked and sliced, intending to remove the ones immediately grabbing at her. She then leapt backwards, while creating a small hook of a barrier along the wraith’s arm, intended to catch the slice preemptively mid-slice and make completing the slice impossible. With that, she was hopefully at a distance, and she’d start running around it with the intention of baiting more attacks and seeking an opportunity to strike the body of this metal ghostly beast. Using her enhanced blade to free herself from the mechadendrites’ grasp, Ronin managed to not only retain her head, but even succeeded in ensnaring the techno-wraith’s remaining arm with one of her barriers. This wouldn’t hold it for long, however, but the nimble samurai was now well acquainted with the creature’s capabilities, and thus, was more than ready for it when it lunged at her again. Moving in a blur of motion, Ronin darted around her much larger opponent, making a series of quick hit and run attacks, which slowly but inexorably began to weaken the technomantic terror. The only question was, would she be able to finish it off in time to aid her draconic ally? Meanwhile, said ally was facing off against an exceedingly bizarre monstrosity. When asked to provide her thoughts on the creature, Sakura responded by vomiting a torrent of scalding steam and crackling lightning right into the biomechanical beast’s three faces. While not nearly strong enough to cause serious harm, the attack [i]did[/i] succeed in stunning the monster for several precious seconds. This was just enough time for Sakura to grab the giant creature and attempt to send it spinning into the command platform hovering behind it. Unfortunately for the draconic maiden, the technomantic Dragon-Chimera was not simply going to allow her to attack it and remain unscathed. Indeed, now that she was so close, its various ultratechnomystic armaments couldn’t possibly miss… With a gurgling “Thuwurp!”, the creature’s electro-toxi-acidic tongue shot out to wrap tightly around Sakura’s body, while her arms were impaled by a pair of hyperalloy hexa-harmonic harpoons. Once she was firmly secure, a second, needle-tipped tongue would dart out to plunge into her forehead, primed to inject her with the most powerful nano-enhanced technomystic super-viruses ever devised… “Up to me to save the day again,” Lysandra grumbled as her mind quickly worked. Both of her allies were pressed, attention fully committed to the foes that they were fighting. Her intervention needed to be swift and decisive. Luckily, fast thinking was something she was good at. Tapping into her magic, a ball of ice was sent flying towards Sakura like an evil snowball, aimed at the second tongue as it struck just as swiftly. She had to smash the thing or divert its course, and her projectile certainly had the mass and force for that. Spinning, she then reoriented towards Ronin and began to chill the air around her and the wraith. Colder and colder the temperature plunged, to slow the monster and freeze it in place as ice began to form. Ronin might get caught too, but Lysandra was confident the girl would think of something. Sakura was not having a good moment. Pain lacerated her body as the Chimera fought back. Her words turned into a low-key growl as the different systems seemed to hit into her. But she was far from mortally wounded. Sakura herself was half Immortal. Indeed for all its menacing attitude, the chimera and her master were exceedingly lacking in common sense. Even more than Sakura at times. Grabbing something capable of electric attacks was not a good plan. Grabbing a dragon whose powerful aura was based off storms was doubly so. So in a sense, the thing grappling with Sakura had left itself wide open to an area of effect attack, a mix of steam, lighting and razor winds shredding everything that it touched. In a sense the chimera's own construction was its own undoing, but the lack of balanced, sturdy design on such a creature would mean Sakura's razor winds, electrified arcs and water jets would hit all of the structural weak points in the vicinity. It was folly to lay your hands on an angry dragon after all. "You…lack balance…" So, Lysandra’s freezing plan didn’t entirely vibe with Ronin’s “get into close combat and cut the thing” plan, but she could adapt. Instead of trying to finish off the thing herself, the strategy was now to make sure the creature was unable to escape a chilling fate. With barriers and wind-magic to quickly get into place Ronin had good specs to ensure such a thing, just needing to blast ahead of it to barrier if possible and otherwise just try to cut to keep it in the impending freezing area. If it’s successfully frozen, Ronin could supply a last quick slice of her blade to finish it once and for all. While being hit with the equivalent of ten thousand lighting bolts would utterly incinerate a normal creature, being attuned to lightning herself, Sakura emerged from this onslaught completely unscathed. The same could not be said of the electro-toxi-acidic tongue’s various hypertoxins and ultra-acidic nanomachines, but even the gruesome dissolving of her scales and skin was as nothing to one such as she. Indeed, even as her flesh melted off, even as the second, needle-tipped tongue was deflected by Lysandra’s enchanted snowball, the Immortal dragon maiden launched a counter attack, sending forth a multi-pronged barrage of jagged lightning, high-pressure water jets, and hyper-velocity wind blasts. Of course, like the draconic maiden herself, the Cybermanitc Dragon-Chimera was also mostly immune to the effects of the crackling arcs of lightning, and it was certainly tough enough to withstand some wind and water, at least, under [i]normal[/i] circumstances. However, Sakura’s attack was [i]far[/i] from normal… With the trained eye of an expert martial artist, the former Yakuza had carefully focused her assault on the amalgamated monstrosity’s various “weak links”, the myriad “joints” where each disparate facet of the bizarre creature were mashed together. By concentrating the full power of her strikes on these key areas, it didn’t take very much force at all to rend the biomechanical abomination completely asunder… Yet, in its final death throes, the multifaceted monstrosity unleashed one last all-out attack, disgorging a staggering array of starkly inconceivable energies of destruction from polycyclic rotary gigablasters, transphaisc ectoplasma cannons, and duodecadestructo death rays. Sakura may have been Immortal, but how much of a fight would a bubbling lump of goo [i]really[/i] be able to put up? Back inside, Ronin found herself aided by Lysandra, who helpfully dealt with the techno-wraith by freezing it in enchanted ice. Normally, this wouldn’t prove much of an impediment to something that could phase through solid matter, but as Lysandra had infused the ice with her magic, it fully prevented the spectral machine entity from escaping. Now there was nothing stopping Ronin from slicing its head off, much like she had that unholy plant-dragon thing back during the big battle at the park. After that high point, she had helped save a certain fairy girl from a most unpleasant fate. Would she manage to do the same for a certain dragon girl now? Turns out, even being partially melted wasn't stopping Sakura. The low key growl was intensifying with the more physical punishment the dragon girl was receiving, as a protective cocoon of water was clinging to her damaged form. It was this who dissipated the energy of the weapons in a severe steam explosion. Despite flesh and bones showing in several places, it was only making her more angry. "Is that it you coward? I'm still on game." She growled, as she decided to do a last push with her draconic might, storm energies finally gathering at an alarming rate. Nykannis wanted a killing blow? Well, she would probably get it. Ronin breathed a sigh of relief as the thing was finally cut down. Now, she turned towards the outside and Sakura… [color=55B7AA]‘Oh, yikes.’[/color] Looked like her healing abilities were in need. While confirming that her token of heroism was still in place on the item, she dashed outside, running on her barriers in order to make sure she was able to join the battle and heal someone soon. That said, she was on her guard, as she was pretty aware she wasn’t nearly as durable as her Sensei. “And good riddance,” Lysandra noted to no one in particular with a confident nod. Maybe it had not been entirely needed, but no one could question that her input had had an effect. She was a capable scientist too, not just some damsel in distress. She nodded to Ronin as the girl raced outside to help Sakura, pleased with her performance. “Good job,” she called. At least one person here was earning their pay. She then turned to the ongoing fight, keeping her distance for now. DIscretion was the better part of valor with the sheer amount of firepower being thrown around. Her brow furrowed as she turned to her math, doing complex calculations in her head. More shards of ice formed in front of her, spiked ends widening out to better impale. Then she let them loose, hoping to snipe a couple of the beasts weapons and lessen the deluge of energy. There was a good chance they wouldn’t reach their target before being destroyed in mid-flight, but she did her best to negate that possibility. Even after cocooning herself in a sphere of swirling water, and even after Lysandra destroyed several of the Cybermantic Dragon-Chimera’s myriad armaments with a volley of well-placed ice spikes, Sakura was still nearly reduced to little more than a pile of sludge as she endured the biomechanical monstrosity’s final bombardment. Thankfully, Ronin was racing to her aid, and after a quick healing spell, Sakura was back to looking roughly like her usual self. However, the pair wouldn’t get much of a reprieve, as the two treaded war machines advanced upon them from either side, their biphase buzzsaws and monomolecular meat cleavers crackling with malignant energy. Simultaneously, their polyphasic particle beam blasters, gigatech gun clusters, and hyperacidic turbo disintegrator cannons unleashed a hail of withering firepower. “My turn.” Sakura said, as an absolute wall of water and storm completely [i]ate up[/i] the salvo they were about to suffer…as now the pair was standing directly in the eye of a hurricane. “HURRICANE EMILY! Consume them all!” Sakura said, unleashing her killing blow on the machines and the platform, the storm affecting a wide area. Now, Ronin’s immediate instinct upon being about to be fired upon was to dodge out of the way. No way her Mag 7 barriers could resist that amount of pure firepower. Except, well, Sakura had a different idea. Given a whole lot of more mag, maybe not that surprising. With a hurricane forming around them, Ronin took on defensive duty against anything that might still break through, with her ability to use barriers to gain foothold in mid-air to dodge and place diagonal barriers to just redirect any attacks that might break through towards her and Sakura… Or maybe Sakura’s got this, then Ronin was just along for the ride. Lysandra’s eyes widened as Sakura unleashed her Killing Blow, and she quickly used ice magic to freeze her feet in place. She might not be the target, but she did not want to be swept away either. She regretted so much right now. With a terrifying expulsion of mystic power, a mighty vortex of water and wind took shape around Ronin and Sakura, one which absorbed or deflected every aspect of the war machines’ barrage. Its destructive energies swirling with even greater frenzy, “Hurricane Emily” set to work utterly annihilating the three remaining drones. A flechette storm of junkyard debris, hurled at over three hundred thousand kilometers per second sliced the treaded juggernauts into ribbons, while the hovering command platform was blown apart by ten million hyper-charged lighting bolts. Once the hypercane’s condensed fury had finally subsided, it was clear to see that nothing remained of Nykannis’s artifact acquisition team, save a few mangled parts. It was from one of these that a flickering holographic image of the mad scientist emerged to grin at the pair of bodyguards, seemingly unbothered by the devastation they had wrought upon her creations. In fact, she seemed almost [i]pleased…[/i] [color=DarkMagenta]“Wow, that was actually pretty impressive!”[/color] She commended, while slowly clapping her hands. [color=DarkMagenta]“I mean, I’ve never seen an area of effect Killing Blow before! Hell, I didn’t know something like that was even [i]possible[/i] in this reality plenum! I’m going to have SO much fun implementing that into Phase Two! Nyahahaha!”[/color] she added, rubbing her hands together in maniacal glee. [color=DarkMagenta]“Oh, but don’t go thinking we’re done here!”[/color] she clarified as a wicked grin spread across her face. [color=DarkMagenta]“You still have one more opponent to face, and I’ve saved the best for last…”[/color] With that, the massive techno-pyramid from which the artifact acquisition team had been deployed dropped its stealth and cloaking fields to reveal its full imposing majesty. A moment later, the quadrupedal assembly beneath it detached, sending shockwaves throughout what remained of the junkyard as it landed in front of Ronin and Sakura, its [url=https://images2.imgbox.com/87/ac/nPQWSVBF_o.png]titanic form[/url] towering over them, while its myriad weapons systems charged with vast technomystic power… “I’m bad at giving up, coward.” Sakura would sneer, her magic completely depleted, and facing the monstrosity with resignation. How could she face the people she had made boasts before if she could not deliver? No. She would deliver, even if it was apparent she should have died earlier, and she was barely holding together. “Get ready. Let’s stagger this thing. Ronin, you’ll be dealing the last blow.” So she crawled into the mud, abandoning all grace, like an eel. She felt so tired, so almost about to pass out, but she drew breath in the murky water and mud alongside the scraps of metal and asphalt, each breath more laborious than the other. She pointed with her sight at Lysandra, and then the water that was pooling under the other thing’s support. This thing had only four points of support. On a terrain that would become increasingly slippery. And Sakura was working into one of them, softening the terrain, creating a quagmire by digging with her movement, despite getting all dirty inside the mud, as she sought to trap the vehicle in a dragon-created bog. She would keep stubbornly doing this until she would pass out finally. Ronin spent a moment being absolutely amazed at the havoc Sakura had been able to wreak on the enemy. However, it did occur to her that this was a Killing Blow, and Sakura should be spent after this… and their opponent wasn’t near done. Big thing appearing. [color=55B7AA]‘Woah. You’re giving Eggman and Wily a run for their money. Are you from some tech-dimension? Where did you find all this?’[/color] Ronin spouted out because that’s what she does when not distracted. Then, Sakura told her she would be making the final blow. Now, Ronin had her doubts that she’d be able to do it… that said, she did manage to decapitate a dragon, something she also thought she was incapable of doing. So she grinned and trusted her mentor who trusted her. [color=55B7AA]‘I’ll do it, Sensei!’[/color] she called, as she placed a hand on her sword to imbue it with a reinforcement boost of sharpness and power. That’s why she then dashed up into the air, running on her own periodically forming barriers. There was no way that thing wasn’t going to try to defend itself, but for her role to play Ronin needed to be close, so she dashed for it, ready for sudden dodges as she tried to get close enough to slice it! To begin with, maybe slice the legs to help with the toppling part, to then prepare to leap for the center later! [color=DarkMagenta]“Nyahahaha! You bet your ass I am!”[/color] Nykannis cackled in response to Ronin’s inquiry. [color=DarkMagenta]“In fact, the universe I come from is more advanced than a Neanderthal like you could possibly imagine! And I didn’t [i]find[/i] these things,”[/color] she clarified pointedly. [color=DarkMagenta]“I [i]MADE[/i] them! Nyahahaha! You’re dealing with the creations of the Mad Scientist Supreme!”[/color] And speaking of dealing, while Sakura could do little more than slither through the mud on her belly in an ultimately pointless attempt to immobilize the monolithic behemoth, Ronin raced into action, darting across her barrier platforms with impressive speed. [color=DarkMagenta]“So, finally playing the part of the pathetic worm you are, huh, Suckura?”[/color] Nykannis taunted. [color=DarkMagenta]“You do realize I wasn’t even planning on having it move around to [i]begin[/i] with, right?! Nyahahaha!”[/color] Indeed, in light of its staggering arsenal, the gargantuan engine of destruction had little need of mobility, a fact it soon demonstrated by unleashing an onslaught of turbo-tachyonic zero point hyperbores, polyphasic quantum singularity cannons, omni-oscillating cosmic string projectors, hyperdimensional homing lasers, transwarp chronocyclonic infinite annihilator rays, negaspheric ultra-antimatter disintegrator missiles, and even a barrage of glittering c-beams for good measure. However, Ronin’s small size and supernatural swiftness made her an exceedingly elusive target. Her movements were like those of a leaf on the wind, the diminutive samurai’s Air Spec allowing her to move at speeds far exceeding what her physical abilities could accomplish alone. Indeed, she soon found herself so close to the technomantic colossus that its most powerful weapons were unable to target her. Of course, that still left the smaller, anti-personnel rotary cannon clusters and sub-munition flechette projectors, not to mention the writhing, energy-clawed mechadendrites, but Ronin was on a mission! Lysandra and her Sensei were counting on her! This was her moment, her time to shine! This was Ronin’s chance to be a hero! Would she succeed in making the most of it? [url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d4xfcSOmbuA]Whelp, nothing else to it.[/url] As uncountable beams of hysterical firepower blew in her direction and probably in the direction it predicted she was heading as well, Ronin’s heart was at the edge of her throat as she swung left and right with air-spec redirecting her and kicks to barriers allowing sudden and immediate redirection when necessary. Dodging through this real-life bullet-hell with her hair standing on end, Ronin approached closer, clothes flowing, hair fluttering and sword held out to her right, ready to swing. When she got closer the anti-personnel weapons flared up, but compared to the bigger guns these were within the amount of firepower that Ronin could block with barriers. So, grabbing a barrier as a shield and projecting herself with air-spec, she sent herself straight into the giant robot! The sword sunk into the robot, but of course, being moderately tiny it wasn’t possible for Ronin to actually cut it in half with her diminutive size. So she spun on the spot, charged all her power, and [i]BLASTED OFF[/i]! [color=55B7AA]‘CHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA-!’[/color] Ronin cried out as she used air-spec and running-in-midair to run really really fast around the robot with her enchanted sword still stuck inside it, intending to carve it open as a fruit as she did more and more damage dashing around the being with her shield up with her other arm for the smaller guns if they could hit her as she propelled herself as quickly as possible to slide the sword through the metallic creature over and over and over and around and around and around and around until the components of her opponent split apart-! As Ronin charged towards the towering technomantic war machine so that she could [i]hit it with her sword[/i], any observer would immediately call to mind the story of David and Goliath. There seemed no conceivable way such a small and admittedly under-powered magical girl like her could ever hope to even [i]dent[/i] such an imposing colossus, and yet, on Ronin came, utterly undaunted by the hail of bullets, the blinding light show of beams, and the writhing whirlwind of mechadendrites, which all sought to snuff out her fragile existence. Unlocking her [i]hidden potential[/i], Ronin sliced her way through the tangle of metallic tendrils until she had reached the behemoth’s main body, at which point she drove her sword deep into its bowels… Although a normal blade would be utterly incapable of even [i]scratching[/i] the machine’s nanofluidic hyperalloy armor, this was a [i]magic sword[/i], further enhanced with potent mystic power, and wielded with expert skill. Still, Ronin knew that such a minor wound would not fell an opponent of this size, and so she began to run, forming a series of barriers beneath her feet, with yet another shining disc positioned to shield her from further attack. Glowing like a comet heralding inescapable doom, the small samurai raced around the towering engine of destruction with blinding speed, her blade creating a jagged, spiraling gash, from which spilled sickly green fluid and sparks. Upon reaching the summit of this metaphorical Everest, Ronin leapt into the air as the technomantic titan’s guts spilled out amidst the flashes of several small explosions, followed by a monstrous detonation, which cast her diminutive form in sharp relief as she hung suspended against the sky. Landing amidst a shower of flaming debris, Ronin would see that there was now nothing left of the gigantic war machine, save a smoldering crater and a few mangled parts. [color=DarkMagenta]“Holy shit! That was [i]some[/i] display!”[/color] Nykannis commended, clearly impressed. [color=DarkMagenta]“You’ve got spirit, kid, I’ll give ya that! Y’know,”[/color] the mad scientist added as her holographic form surveyed the blasted battlefield. [color=DarkMagenta]“You two certainly gave my creations one hell of a workout! I’ll be able to make ‘em [i]twenty times[/i] more powerful with all this new data you’ve so kindly provided! Oh, and thanks for focusing all your attention on [i]them,[/i] so I could have my stealth probe analyze the shard uninterrupted! After all, I don’t need to borrow it now that I ran all the necessary tests on it while you guys were busy fighting! Nyahahaha!”[/color] With that, the flickering hologram faded out of existence, while overhead, the hovering techno-pyramid teleported away with a loud “Zzzrrrop!”, amidst crackling arcs of yellowy-green lightning. Silence descended for several moments with the disappearance of the mad scientist and her creations. Lysandra’s head was practically on a swivel as she looked between Ronin and Sakura, too dumbfounded to even be mad that they had somehow lost even when they won. Well, she still had the shard, so she’d call it a win regardless. “Penrose Girls really are something else,” she muttered as she turned to begin surveying the damage to her workshop. [color=55B7AA]‘OH MY GOD did you see that!? Sensei! Sensei That was awesome! I am awesome! You are awesome! We are awesome!’[/color] an ecstatic Ronin didn’t really entire register that part about disguised drones. Seeing how the token on the item they were protecting hadn’t been disturbed she knew it was safe, she was now just dashing for Sakura to see if she needed more healing, and if so would absolutely provide it. Sakura was absolutely spent and wrecked, dirt still clinging to her. "Afraid not, Ronin." She would cough up as she slithered towards the duo. "But that jerk is not here so you showed her good. Next time we will feed her own ass to her." [color=55B7AA]‘We absolutely will! Good work, Sensei!’[/color] Ronin called and helped heal Sakura some more. [color=55B7AA]‘Lysandra? Are you doing alright? Were we good, or what?’[/color] she asked the one who hired them with a grin. Lysandra paused as she was addressed, returning her focus to the duo as they began to recover from the fight. “If you want to hunt her down, you’ll have to do that on your own time,” she observed. However, after a moment she gave them a smile and a nod. “Despite my disapproval of some of the tactics used, you both did a good job in the end. I knew I was asking for help from the right people.” "I am an immortal dragon and she is a samurai…kinda… we honour our deals, Tie Anders." Sakura would try to say, looking regal but still very wobbly. "Now… what about the payment?" “Work on standing up first, then I’ll pay you,” Lysandra replied. It had been tough, but they had won. Once she had fixed the stuff that was broken, she could return to her research. Hopefully life would be a bit less stressful from now on. [color=55B7AA]‘Wonderful! Hey, Sensei, to celebrate, when we get back, I'll buy you a drink!’[/color] Ronin called happily, then leaned in to whisper. [color=55B7AA]‘It's a secret, buuuuut, I can transform my body to look any age out-of-battle, I can get you whatever~’[/color] Sakura tried to adjust herself to her best,as she eyed Ronin. “Oppai…” She trailed off. [color=55B7AA]‘Eh?’[/color] Ronin had to take a moment. She smiled widely though. [color=55B7AA]‘I don't know what that is, but I'll do my best to get it to you!’[/color] she said. [i]That's a lie, she knew exactly what it was.[/i] Whether Sakura would receive her gift or not was a story for another time. Right now, it was a time to rest and recover from their difficult battle. At least no one could claim they had not earned their reward.